Omaha daily bee., 1887-09-01

A Hot Spring Which Vomits Forth Human
Bones.
Petrified Trees and Lignite - Lost
Rivers-The Mystery of the
Lava Beds.

A correspondent of the Globe Demo.
crat, writing from Fort Keogh, Mont,
says: Not all the natural wonders Of the
northwest are contained in the Yellow.
stone National park. All through this
newly belt (the northern end of
the former Great American desert) are
natural surprises in every shape, which
of course, are seldom, If ever. heard of,
simply because they are in the neighbor
hood of the great collection of natural
curiosities 80 closely grouped together in
the Yellowstone park. The bad lands Of
Dakota contain any number OF marvel
Gus petrifications equa. to the best found
among the petritied forests of the park;
the Bitter Boot range of mountains in
western Montana are full of beautiful
cascades, lovely weterfalls and petrfica-
tions, too, for. that matter; the lava beds
of Snake river are unequaled IN their pc
cular style on the continent; and the cav
erns and bottomless tissurcs, not to
speak of the stupendous scenery abound
ing all through the Big Horn range,
would make the well.known and we'll.
ton look small in comparison.
VARYING SCENERY.
Strange as it may seem, too, some of
the scenery up this way changes with the
seasons. In winter the country puts on
an aspect seldom, If ever, seen by tourists
except by those in search of "winter sum
beams.' don't think lever saw hand
somer sight in my life than did one day
last spring when chanced to be at Liv-
ingstone, situated at the mouth of the
first canyon of the Yellowstone. 1t was
a bright, sunshiny day on earth, but up
among the clouds in the vicinity of the
mountain tops, a fierce snow storm was
raging. In half an hour the storm broke
away, when lo the SUBMITS of the peaks
and half way down, far below the timber
line, the mountains were encased in spot
less white, with belt of sharp. we'll de-
fined green below. 1t was indeed gor-
geous sight, the monstrous piles appear
ing for all the world like fleet of giyan-
tic icebergs sailing down upon tbs town.
When the freshets come on in the spring,
and the rivers break up, preparatory to
running out, sometimes the narrow de-
files through which they wind become
choked with ice, and the streams become
gorged.
The hugh cakes of Ice rush madly on.
ward, and, coming to the obstruction,
pile on and up. while the water, unable
to find an outlet, spreads out over the
surrounding country for miles. A
freezing snap comes along, and in u
night we have an ice field equal in d-
mensions and almost as dangerous rs
those of the Arctic regions.
A MARVELLOUS GORGE.
On the eastern border of the Yellow
stone park among the Hodoo mountains.
there is a wonderful and awe-inspiring
gorge, through which rushes the waters
of Calfee creek, which is simply impas-
sable for man or beast except in the dead
of winter. Towering walls of basaltic
rocks rise to dlzzy height on each SIDE,
and it is only when the cold of winter
has CONCEALED the waters below that the
narrow and rocky detile can be threaded.
A hunter, two winters ago, hot on the
heels of blue bull elk, was surprised to
see the animal dash boldly into this
chasm; but, nothing daunted the veteran
pot hunter held to the trail made
plain by tracks IN the snow for nearly
two miles, when, becoming anxious for
his own safety, he allowed his quarry to
escape, and, by dint of hard and difficult
climbing, finally succeeded In reaching
the bluffs above.
AS for fossils and petrifactons the
country is full of them. There is piece
not far from here. among Il lot of rocks
cut out by the Northern Pacific railroad
in blasting roadway, veritable photo
when Clipped off IN layers. present re.
markable pictures of leaves and twigs,
all indelibly stamped on the rocks and
most beautifully and artistically exc
cuted. The writer has many such which
have become faded and dim from expos
ure to the air, but by dipping the piece or
pieces in water the pictures are strongly
brought out, as full and as perfect as
when first mined. At a small railroad
station west of here, rightly called "Fos-
Sill" n prospector has brought to light 4
large number of fossils of fish. leaves and
insects. Not long since two fossils of
unusual value aud interest Were discov-
cred by him. One of them was a num-
Der of palm leaves, some of which were
over five feet IN length, and the other n
most valuable find, perfect fossil of an
Egyptian crocodile twelve feet in length
The latter is complete in every respect,
and has been or will be shipped to the
geological society of St. Louis.
The fossil beds of tho Yellowstone, un-
known to the tourist or geologists simply
because much of this new country IS vet
unexplorcd and unknown, are capable OF
supplying not only the museums of this
country. but also chose of the Old World
with thousands of specimens.
A PETRIFlED CATFISH.
Il. Murray, ranchman living IN Pease
Bottom. surprised his wife one morning
by bringing in a petrified catfish and re.
qucsting the good lady to broil it for
breakfast. He had found it in the bluffs
near by. q. III. Geer, with stick, pried
out petritied trout from the fossil bluffs
on Clark fork of the Yellowstone, and
says there is stratum of fossils there
four feet thick. In the bluffs at Deals
ranch, near Huntly. there is series OF
fossllferous strata at intervals of about
ten feet from the top of the bluffs to the
water.
Two citizens of Billings went there re-
| Gently and secured about 100 pounds
within two hours. On the Crow Indian
reservation, among the kidney shaped
hcmatte iron deposits. there are many
varieties OF bones, shells, insects and the
| like, which carry as much iron rs the
hematite itself. At Alkali creek, Swim
mIng Woman creek and Graveyard bot
tom there are great beds of fossils. Many
| beautiful leaf impressions are found
among the Bull mountains and along
Razor creek. They can be quarried BY
the carload in numerous localities with
out heavy expense. Over the line in Da
kota there is grove of petrified stumps
| OF about an acre, six miles east of Youns
Mans Butte and about one and one-hal
| miles southeast of Clusters lookout, stand